Super Bowl loss ruins even great seasons

Wednesday

Jan 28, 2009 at 12:20 AMJan 28, 2009 at 6:20 AM

By Dwight CollinsStaff writer

Shortly after his Eagles were victims of an Oakland Raiders drive-by in Super Bowl XV, Philadelphia coach Dick Vermeil couldn’t disguise his disappointment when well-wishers and back-slappers bombarded him with words of encouragement.
Following Philadelphia’s 14-5 season that ended in defeat the day Raiders linebacker Rod Martin etched his name into Super Bowl lore in New Orleans, Vermeil, a soft-hearted and reflective guy, couldn’t leave it alone.
Never mind the Eagles tied for the best record in the NFL and qualified for their first Super Bowl, nudging a Pittsburgh-heavy state NFL pendulum a hair back toward east Pennsylvania. Never mind the Raiders had done in the Minnesota Vikings a couple years earlier and would slaughter Washington a couple years later.
There wasn’t much to feel good about.
“Anyone who says one loss cannot ruin a season,” Vermeil started, “never lost a Super Bowl.”
In the world of sports, it’s that big.
Ask the New England Patriots following a perfect regular season and with a record of 18-0 heading into last year’s Super Bowl. Think one loss didn’t ruin that season?
Better think again.
Now we have a situation where it seems the Arizona Cardinals are just happy to be in a Super Bowl, any Super Bowl.
The redbirds came out of the desert to nest in Tampa this week. And if the Pittsburgh Steelers can become the first six-time Super Bowl champion, you might expect Cardinal fans, the players and staff to confess to enjoying the experience afforded the NFC champion.
But then you would be underestimating them.
Matt Leinart? Yeah, maybe. The Cardinals’ pretty-boy backup quarterback seems more than content to don a baseball cap, carry a clipboard and watch aging wonder Kurt Warner dodge black-and-yellow missiles all evening.
The others? They don’t know the hollow Cardinals stories of Jim Hart or Neil Lomax, or the mind-numbing drafts that — within a decade — produced ineffective kickers Steve Little and John Lee before the second rounds were concluded.
They don’t care that the franchise was unloved in Chicago, wasn’t nearly the most popular franchise named “Cardinals” during decades in St. Louis, and hasn’t been totally embraced in Arizona until the last couple years.
They just understand how difficult it is to navigate through a season and three rounds of playoffs to land on the big stage.
Warner once shared that big stage with Vermeil, who, two decades after his Eagles lost a Super Bowl, found redemption behind MVP Warner in Super Bowl XXXIV against the Tennessee Titans.
Funny how St. Louis had to lose the Cardinals and lure the Rams to finally win a Super Bowl. Now Warner will try to make yet another region giddy with a first Super Bowl victory.
This is a moment — the Cardinals preparing for a Super Bowl during the same fortnight in which “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” was No. 1 at the box office — when the planets align oddly. It’s like when the Canadian dollar was worth as much as ours for those few hours, or when Billy Donovan found himself in an Orlando Magic introductory press conference. Years from now, we will likely look back and think: “Did that really happen? It’s crazy.”
Florida’s traditional “Big Three” football-playing universities will be well represented on Sunday with the Miami trio of Edgerrin James, Antrel Rolle and Calais Campbell suiting up for the Cardinals, and ex-Florida star Max Starks manning an offensive tackle position for the Steelers.
Former FSU players will be on particular display with Lawrence Timmons, Bryant McFadden and Orpheus Roye in the Steelers’ defensive rotation, and receiver Anquan Boldin and tackle Darnell Dockett working on opposite units for the Cardinals.
Boldin has been a huge story this week since a sideline blow-up with Arizona offensive coordinator Todd Haley in the NFC championship game victory over Philadelphia.
Boldin was miffed over his removal from the lineup as Arizona moved into running mode with James and Tim Hightower. I can’t exactly blame Boldin. Having him on your bench is like owning a red Corvette in Waldo, a severe suppression of horsepower.
Dockett has been in the news for not accepting a dinner invitation to the Tampa home of Earnest Graham. But he’s probably lucky Graham didn’t twist his knee at the bottom of the stairs as the Cardinals deplaned.
RANDOM THOUGHTS: Kid Rock isn’t going to show up for a gig at the Southeastern Livestock Pavilion in Ocala? Shocking. Why does every would-be promoter in town think Kid Rock wants anything to do with the Livestock Pavilion or Ocala Speedway, where security nearly outnumbered paying fans for the Lil’ Kim fiasco? ... NFL franchises located in Michigan and Wyoming won the same number of games this past season. ... Did anyone else see the incredible fireball in the northern sky late Monday evening?
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Dwight Collins can be reached at dwight.collins@starbanner.com.

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